Wednesday, May 01, 2013 2:06 pm

'The Young and the Restless' top Emmy nods

By DAVID BAUDERAP Television Writer

CBS' soap "The Young and the Restless" earned a leading 23 Daytime Emmy nominations on Wednesday, including three of the four competitors for best actor, while ABC rival "General Hospital" had 19 nominations.

The 40th annual Daytime Emmy awards will be held June 16 in Beverly Hills, Calif., televised for the second year on the cable network HLN. Nominations were announced Wednesday.

PBS' venerable children's show "Sesame Street" earned 17 nominations, including one for Kevin Clash, who played the Elmo character and resigned last November amid allegations that he sexually abused underage boys. Clash's lawyer has said that related lawsuits filed against Clash are without merit. Clash, who was nominated for outstanding performer in a children's series, played Elmo for 28 years and already has 23 Daytime Emmy awards.

Top actor nominees are Peter Bergman, Doug Davidson and Michael Muhney of "The Young and the Restless" and Jason Thompson of "General Hospital."

Nominated for top actress in a daytime drama were Susan Flannery and Heather Tom of "The Bold and the Beautiful"; Peggy McCay of "Days of Our Lives" and Michelle Stafford of "The Young and the Restless."

Kelly Ripa will have a chance for a repeat award with a different co-host this year. Her pairing with Regis Philbin, "Live with Regis and Kelly!" won best entertainment talk show last year, and they were named top talk show hosts. Her new collaboration with Michael Strahan was nominated for best entertainment talk show, competing with "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," "The Talk" and "The View."

Katie Couric's new daytime program was nominated in the best informative talk show category, against two medical shows: "The Doctors" and "The Dr. Oz Show."

Syndication favorite "Jeopardy!" was nominated for best game show, and its host Alex Trebek for best game show host. "Wheel of Fortune" and its host, Pat Sajak, were both snubbed by the television academy.

Harvey has a chance for a rare double. Along with his nomination for best talk show host, he's competing for best game show host for his role on "Family Feud."

Monty Hall, former host of "Let's Make a Deal," and producer Bob Stewart, who made "To Tell the Truth" and "Password," earned lifetime achievement awards from the academy.

CBS led with 50 nominations, followed by PBS with 44. In a sign of changing times, YouTube earned three nominations.